Hiking Snorkeling and Freediving in Manokwari

I have just completed a 3 day-tour for British, New Zealander, Italian, and Indonesian tourists in the forest and coral reef of Manokwari. We did hiking trip in the hill forest to see such animals as millipede, spiders, butterflies, and birds. We also explored a natural cave to see its bats, frogs, and snake. The sounds of Black-capped Lory, Hooded Butcherbird, Helmetted Friarbird, Olive-backed Sunbird, Yellow-faced Myna, and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo could be heard while we were walking under the canopy of the tropical trees.

Italian tourist was taking a tour to natural cave in Manokwari

The next day, we had another trip to coral reef area of Mansinam island. The sea was quite calm and the visibility was good enough for me to take pictures of the marine life especially the colorful fish. The two British girls, Jess and Leila, whom I guided were very good swimmers. I asked Leila to do a freedive so that I could take a picture of her underwater. She said,"yes." So, I dived first to a depth of a round 5 meters below the surface to wait for her. When  she dived, I took some pictures of her in the blue water. One of them is presented below. It is a nice photo.

Recreational Freediving in Manokwari waters

I brought my camera Fujifilm XQ2 that I had inserted into its waterproof case. The morning sunlight allow me to take pictures of Black-backed Butterflyfish with greater details.

Black-backed Butterflyfish (Chaetodon melannotus)

However, for fast loading of this article on the internet, I have to resize the photograph and only present its smaller version on this blog.
On the third day, I guided an Italian and Indonesian couple on a trip to the same forest, and then to two small lakes in the southern suburb of Manokwari city to enjoy its beautiful view.

Striped Surgeonfish (Acanthurus lineatus)

In the afternoon, at approximately 15.00, we continued our trip to the north coast of Manokwari to enjoy snorkeling and freediving again. The waves were quite big in late December but we could still enjoy the view of the coral reef, particularly the fish the live in the rocks that were close to the shore. I was able to take pictures of the Striped Surgeonfish (Acanthurus lineatus), Three-spots Dascyllus, Yellow-tailed Blue Damsel (Chrysiptera cyanea) and Cinnamon Clownfish (Amphiprion melanopus).
If you are interested in taking a hiking tour in the forest as well as snorkeling trip in Manokwari city and want me (Charles Roring) to organize your trip, please, contact me by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Snorkeling Picture of Marine Fish from Manokwari bay

Everytime I go snorkeling in the Dore bay of Manokwari, I will always bring a camera with me. From my last trip with two Dutch tourists, I was able to shoot some marine fish that live in the coral reef area near the shore of Arfak mountains. Some of them are striped surgeonfish (Acanthurus lineatus), lined bristletooth (Ctenochaetus striatus), chromis, and wrasse. From the Reef fish Identification book, I found that the lined bristletooth picture does not have bright spot at its tail (see the red arrow). So, I call the fish - Arfak lined bristletooth.

The marine fish whose pictures are shown in this post were made by using Panasonic Lumix FT3 - a good underwater camera that is suitable for snorkelers. Before buying this camera, I used ordinary pocket camera that was protected by underwater waterproof case manufactured by Dicapac. In places where the reefs such as staghorn coral and table coral are still in their pristine conditions, we usually will see more fish there. Marine fish eat algae that grows on the surface of the hard corals. In order to grow well, the sea water has to be clean and free from pollution. In tropical waters where mangrove trees live, more fish will be found. As a snorkeling tour guide, I often bring tourists to several coral reef areas in Manokwari bay.

In addition to snorkeling, Manokwari is also a nice place for travelers who want to go hiking in the rainforest of Arfak mountains. This mountain range is home to birds of paradise, sulfur crested cockatoo, goliath cockatoo, blyth's hornbill, ground and tree kangaroo,  and various species of butterflies. Birdwatching is a great activities that nature lovers can do while traveling in Manokwari. Binoculars, and telephoto camera are needed for birding in the mountains. by Charles Roring

Also read:
Papua Snorkeling
Snorkeling Picture from New Guinea of Indonesia

New Snorkeling Location in Manokwari bay

I have just found a new snorkeling place in Manokwari bay. It's a 30-minute boat ride from Manokwari city. Yesterday, I guided two Dutch snorkelers to the area. They were the first tourists whom I brought to the snorkeling site. We left Arfai in the morning by an outrigger wooden boat. The boat driver was Kosal. He is a fisherman. His daughter - acted as navigator. She informs her father about floating woods or plastic wastes that can be harmful to the hull or the propeller of the boat. The surface of the sea was quite calm that morning.

The coral reef is still in pristine condition. I didn't see any broken reefs caused by dynamite fishing or fishing net. According to the fisherman, no tourists had ever been there. So, Herman and Elizabeth were the first tourists to snorkel in the area. They looked happy to know about it. They came to Manokwari for hiking, birdwatching in Arfak mountains and snorkeling in this Dore bay. Various colors of tropical fish such as wrasse, yellow tail demoiselle, blue and yellow fusilier were seen  there especially because the weather was really good. The beach is clean and protected by green tropical trees. To give you the impression of how beautiful the coral reef of this new snorkeling destination was, I add some underwater snorkeling pictures of the reef in this post. I used waterproof camera Panasonic Lumix FT3 to shoot the reef fish and the corals. For snorkeling in the bay, I wear snorkeling mask Reef Tourer that was manufactured by Tabata. It's a nice gear both for snorkelers or even scuba divers.

So far, very few tourists have visited this site. Last year, I guided four Indonesian youth on a snorkeling tour to this area. They brought underwater camera to take pictures of the fish and the corals. They were some of the participants of aci.detik.com Indonesian tour competition program. Although they didn't win the competition, their photographs about this pristine coral reef is very important in creating awareness among the city dwellers of Manokwari to stop throwing plastic wastes into the sea.

As a tourist guide, I provide (please click the link) snorkeling tour package to anybody who is interested in snorkeling in this bay. Please, contact me if you still need more information about it. by Charles Roring

Snorkeling Picture from New Guinea of Indonesia

Everytime I guide tourists for some snorkeling trips in New Guinea of Indonesia, I always ask them to make underwater picture of the tropical fish which they can find at sea. I also asked the same thing to Marko and Rita Laakonen while they were snorkeling with me in Manem islet. From the underwater pictures which they made, two of them are added in this post. Before uploading them to this blog, I tried to identify the tropical fish that are shown in the photographs. The first picture, I think, is the cromish and damsel whereas the second picture is the humphead bannerfish. There are thousands of spesies of reef fish in tropical waters. To identify them is not an easy thing to do. One needs a book for that task. With a book entitled Reef Fish identification Tropical Pacific, the identification process of the fish will be much easier to be done. Rita and Marko were really happy when they saw the fish and pristine coral reef that covers the shallow waters of the islet.

For snorkeling in this tiny islet, tourists need to fly from Manokwari to Numfor island. After that, they need to take a boat to Manem. It took around 1 hour boat ride from Numfor island to reach the coral reef area. The snorkeling picture which you see in this post was shot only by a pocket camera that has been protected by waterproof casing manufactured by Dicapac. The marine biodiversity is very high in this islet. The trip to Manem is possible if the weather is good. This tiny islet is quite isolated if I compare it with the reef area in Manokwari bay. If after snorkeling in the coral reef you become interested in learning about this precious marine environment, I suggest that you read a book entitled: Life in the Sea - The Coral Reef which is written by Palm Walker and Elaine Wood. The book is suitable for anyone whose knowledge about coral reef is very basic.

There are no diving or snorkeling shops both in Manokwari and Numfor. If you want to go snorkeling in Numfor, please, bring your own snorkeling set. Watercasing for your pocket camera can be ordered from Amazon.com. Please, check dicapac.com for the type of waterhousing that is suitable for your digital camera. With the waterproof case, you can turn your conventional digital camera into a waterproof camera.
If you want to buy a real waterproof camera, I suggest that you buy a Panasonic DMC-FT3 Lumix. It is now my favorite device for taking pictures of fish, and coral reef while snorkeling in this tropical paradise.
I started using it at sea on 17 August 2011 when I guided 2 Dutch tourists on a snorkeling trip along the shores of Arfak mountains and Arfai beach. The snorkeling site near Arfak mountains is a new destination that I am now promoting for my eco-tourism program. It is a 30-minute boat ride from our boat station that is located in Arfak beach.  If you are interested in snorkeling in this new location, you can read my blog post: New Snorkeling Location in Manokwari bay. Don't forget to contact me if you want to come to Manokwari via my email peace4wp@gmail.com.
by Charles Roring
Also read:

Papua Snorkeling

Snorkeling in Mansinam island